Nemesis 17: B&B #183

#17

Brave and the Bold #183 (February 1982)

Synopsis: 

Greyfox, infamous underworld assassin, continues his search for Nemesis. He has had artists provide him with sketches for each sighting he could get, so he might know Nemesis if he happens to meet him. He has a team out searching for the helicopter Nemesis stole from The Council, sure that Nemesis would not have scrapped it. Greyfox is confident that he will eventually find Nemesis. 

Meanwhile, Nemesis places Valerie and her brother, Chris, in a witness protection type situation, with new identities, living in a suburban home. He then relocates to a hotel, away from his main apartment in order to keep is landlords and his other secrets safe. 

Later, Nemesis visits Road Runner, only to find that his source's apartment has been watched by Greyfox. Nemesis manages to disarm the goons, then gets information from Road Runner as to Greyfox's base of operations. 

Unfortunately, in the interim Greyfox has succeeded in finding what turns out to be Nemesis' helicopter. He makes Nemesis' mechanic, Barney, call "Mr. King" to come to the hangar by threatening Barney's daughter. Nemesis gets the message and shows up, suspicious. Greyfox sees Nemesis, out of disguise, and recognizes him as one of his identities. He focuses on him in a rifle sight. 

  

Commentary: 

There's something about a well-written confrontation between Good and Evil that is just a pleasure to read. We met Greyfox last issue and got a hint of how intelligent and methodical he was. We already knew Nemesis was smart, so we knew this wouldn't be a one-and-done run-in. This time, we get to see exactly what Nemesis' weaknesses are, and how Greyfox intends to exploit them. The search for the helicopter, in particular, is a very clever idea, and, obviously, rewards Greyfox handsomely. 

On the other hand, we get to see Nemesis metaphorically sweating as his hunter moves ever closer. I like how he saves Valerie and Chris, and leaves the Albrights in order to maintain their security. And although artist Dan Spiegle's interpretation of Road Runner veers a bit too far into caricature for me, I do enjoy seeing his return as another supporting character. In fact, that seems to be a sub-theme of this story arc: although the series is called NEMESIS, Tom is not alone and couldn't do all he does without help. Besides Valerie, we have her brother, his informant, his landlords, and now his helicopter mechanic, Barney. Quite a rich cast of characters. 

I have been a fan of serialized story-telling my whole life, and I also know that the Nemesis series goes on for several more installments. So although I know that Nemesis is not about to get his head blown off in the first panel of the next story, I do find myself wondering how he is going to manage to live. Death traps be damned, he can't out-run a rifle bullet to the head. Writer Cary Burkett has done it again; he has crafted eight pages of drama that leaves the reader desperately wanting more. 

 

Nemesis Fact File:  

• The team-up in this issue is between Batman and The Riddler, in his one and only appearance here. "The Death of Batman" by Don Krarr and Carmine Infantino & Mike DeCarlo is a very uneven mystery about someone who has kidnapped a famous author and threatens to kill him unless Batman and the Riddler solve a series of riddles. The thing I remember most about this story is that Infantino & DeCarlo draw the Riddler without gloves for the entire story.  
• The "artists' sketches" show identities used by Nemesis in the following stories: big lug (B&B #168), casino players (B&B #171), and Mead (B&B #172). 
• Witnesses could have described the Nemesis jump-suit from his run-in with goons in B&B #168. 
  
• There were no letters printed in The Brave & The Bold #188 mentioning this Nemesis installment. 

This story has not yet been reprinted. Therefore, I gladly reproduce the eight-page story here in its entirety, exactly as it appeared in its comic-book form.
Please do not allow it to fall into the hands of the Council!

NEMESIS 

created by Cary Burkett and Dan Spiegle